The Student Affairs Outstanding Achievement Award will be presented to Curtis “Hank” Barnette. The 2013 Student Affairs Hall of Fame Award will be presented to Cindy Alderson and Mary Collins.

Curtis “Hank” Barnette was born in 1935 in St. Albans. He is a 1956 WVU graduate and was a Fulbright Scholar in International Law at Manchester University, England (1957). He then served as a Counterintelligence Corps Officer in Frankfurt, Germany until 1959 and completed his military intelligence reserve duty in 1968 with the rank of Major. He graduated from the Yale Law School (1962).

After a period of private practice in Yale, and as a Law Tutor teaching at the Yale Law School, he joined Bethlehem Steel Corporation in 1967. He became general counsel, attended Harvard Business School and was elected chairman and chief executive officer. Following his retirement in 2000, he became chairman emeritus. Then, he joined the international law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher and Flom and served until he retired in 2011. Barnette is admitted to the Bars of Connecticut, Pennsylvania, the District of Columbia, West Virginia, the United States Supreme Court and other federal courts.

He was elected chairman of the American Iron and Steel Institute and received the Gary Medal and the Statesman Award. He was chairman of the International Iron and Steel Institute and received the IISI Medal. He served as chairman of the Pennsylvania Business Roundtable and was a member of the Business Council. Barnette was a director of Bethlehem Steel, MetLife, Owens Corning and a member of the Norfolk Southern Advisory Board. Barnette has offices in Washington, D.C., and Bethlehem, Pa.

President Ronald Reagan appointed Barnette to the Administrative Conference of the United States, and he served by appointment under Presidents George H. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush as a member of the President’s Trade Advisory Committee. Former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge appointed him to the 21st Century Environmental Commission and former Secretary of Labor Elizabeth Dole named him to the Coal Commission.

Barnette has received Honorary LL.D. degrees from WVU, Lehigh University, Moravian College, DeSales University and the University of Charleston.

While a student at WVU, Barnette was a member of Beta Theta Pi Fraternity, Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Alpha Theta, Mountain Honorary and Sphinx and served as president of the Student Government Association. He served as cadet colonel of ROTC and was a distinguished military graduate.

Barnette was chairman of the WVU Board of Governors and was elected chairman emeritus after completing his service. He was chairman of the WVU Foundation and is now a director emeritus. He was designated a Distinguished West Virginian by the Governor and was elected to the Academy of Distinguished Alumni, the Business Hall of Fame and the Order of Vandalia. He served on the Advisory Boards of the Law School and the College of Arts and Sciences, and he was named Most Loyal Mountaineer-Alumni.

He is chairman of the National Advisory Council of WVU Health Sciences, a member of the National Committee and the College of Arts and Sciences Committee for the current campaign. Barnette and his wife, Joanne, also a WVU graduate, have established scholarships at St. Albans High School, the Law School, and at Manchester University for WVU students. They also established a Professorship in Political Science and the Board of Governors Room at Erickson Alumni Center.

Barnette lives in Bethlehem, Pa. He and his wife have two sons, Kevin and James, who are both attorneys.

Cindy Alderson has dedicated the past 32 years to the Division of Student Affairs. She began her career in 1980 at her alma mater WVU. Upon graduation, she did a brief stint as a substitute teacher in the Monongalia County School system. Having previous food service experience in catering and restaurants, she applied for a supervisor position at the dining hall in Towers.

Alderson has been promoted up through the ranks, working in all the various dining halls in one capacity or another until being promoted to assistant director in 1999. She has been recognized for being instrumental in the reopening of Stalnaker Dining Hall in 1993, the planning, development and opening of the Lyon’s Den, Bits & Bytes, Sports Café, Waterfront Café and Brew n’ Gold Café, and various other Dining Services’ projects. She also personally developed the current price agreement ordering process that is currently utilized by Essential Services.

Alderson was introduced to the National Association of College & University Food Services in 1985. She began active participation in the organization in 1999 as the chairperson of the Mid-Atlantic Region Professional Practices Committee, then as chairperson of the M.A.R. Membership Committee, and recently completed her consecutive two-year position as treasurer for the region. She continues, after retirement, as treasurer for the 2014 National Conference. She has been honored as the fourth professional to complete the eight education institutes offered by NACUFS in 2012. Normally taking a minimum of eight years to complete, Alderson accomplished it in six years.

Through her years with WVU, she has continued to acknowledge her family and her support staff for her ongoing success.

Mary Collins has 17 years of experience in the field of Student Affairs. She is currently serving as Vice President for Student Affairs at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pa. Previously, she was employed at WVU in Student Affairs, most recently as assistant vice president, in which she oversaw Student Support Services, Student Organization Services, Upward Bound, Child Development and Family Support Services, Experience WVU, The Daily Athenaeum, assessment, and substance abuse prevention efforts.

While at WVU, she chaired committees that created and established award-winning programs, such as WVUp All Night and the Senior Year Experience. Collins was also involved in the establishment and growth of the Mountaineer Maniacs, now the largest student organization on campus with more than 5,500 members. Collins was a founding member of the Statewide Alcohol Coalition, and she chaired the task forces that enhanced the student tailgating lot and restructured the ticketing process at football games.

Collins has been honored for her work by national and state student affairs organizations, and she received the WVU Richard T. Feller Outstanding Alumni Award for Distinguished Service to Students. She has published several articles and co-authored a book chapter about student life. She is a member of Mountain Honorary as well as several professional higher education organizations.

Collins earned both a Bachelor of Science degree in journalism and a Master of Arts degree in educational leadership from WVU. She was a member of the Pride of West Virginia’s marching band silk line and served as managing editor of the Daily Athenaeum student newspaper.

She and her husband Craig live in Latrobe, Pa. They are parents to Angela and Matthew.